Backup Beeps, Rustling Leaves, and a Catbird
A Late Summer Musical Update
Hi Friends,
Summer is winding down, and we are enjoying the last moments of August quiet on our street. We live one block from the main campus of Johns Hopkins University, and the beginning of the school year sets in motion a cascade of activity that lasts until Thanksgiving.
What are your favorite sounds of summer? I have many, but I most enjoy a good thunderstorm. ⛈
SUMMER 2025 INCLUDED:
An annual trip to Ocracoke Island with friends. It’s a beautiful, remote place that never gets old. 🏖🐢
Some fun concerts, including WTMD’s First Thursday concert in July and an all-Gershwin concert by the Baltimore Symphony. Never have I heard a classical music audience ROAR like after pianist Drew Petersen’s performance of Rhapsody in Blue. It could have been a football stadium!
So much yard work, overseen by attentive catbirds. 🌱🌻
As a longtime Finale user, I spent a ton of time archiving my compositions and preparing to switch to Dorico for notated works moving forward. It’s not fun, but being forced to organize my musical materials better is also not the worst thing.
An escape to Calvert Cliffs in search of fossils. My inner 8-year-old is thrilled with her shark’s tooth treasures! 🦈
CURRENTLY HAPPENING
Apparently “No Deadlines” time is over—for now. I am deep into a large musical project with a turnaround time so fast it made me gasp. More on this later! I’m superstitious about sharing creative work too early; in my experience, it can deplete the energy of the thing. For the moment, all positive, productive, creative juju is appreciated! 💫 (I will be reinstating No Deadline Time in the future because it is GREAT.)
My multidimensionally talented wife Nike Carstarphen has launched Branch & Bough Studio, featuring her handcrafted live-edge wood tables! These are absolutely gorgeous, one-of-a-kind pieces of fine furniture. (I not so secretly want to keep them all, but they should be out in the world making other homes beautiful!)
Visit her website and see what she has available! Let her know which is your favorite! And please DO pass the link on to friends and family who may want extra-special pieces for their homes!
A NEW CONCERT SEASON AND SCHOOL YEAR
My alto saxophone concerto Time Unfolding will have several more performances this season before it comes out of exclusivity next summer. There are superb videos and recordings to check out at the link above!
For those seeking additional music to program on concerts and recitals this season, may I suggest…
The Way of Ideas — flute, clarinet, violin, cello
Vixen — flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, vibraphone, piano, violin, cello
Coyote Turns or Watershed — string quartets
Tides — saxophone quartet & fixed electronics
Perseids — wind ensemble
These works, along with many others, are available in my online shop.
Dream & Scheme Sessions are ideal for recent grads seeking to navigate life's twists and turns.
INTERESTING / FUN
📚 Reading
Baltimore has been producing quirky innovators forever, including the inventor of the sound-operated traffic signal! (This article is pretty hilarious!)
I am a longtime fan of Brian Eno’s outside-the-box creative thinking.
Sometimes composers put inventive musical instructions in their scores.
👂 Listening
Annika Socolofsky’s The Full Hundred for band and electronics is “an audio documentary that chronicles the inspiring stories of Americans who have researched, fought for, and lived through pay and funding inequity in the United States.”
🎥 Watching
Friends of Big Bear Valley has an incredible “eagle cam” featuring the bald eagle couple Jackie and Shadow, who spent this summer raising their eaglets, Sunny and Gizmo. (Thanks to Alex Ross for the tip!)
☠️ You Can’t Make This Stuff Up
Experimental music isn’t usually creepy (to me), BUT for the project Revivification composer Alvin Lucier donated blood that is being used to create music four years after his death.